

Teacher Talking Time: The Learn YOUR English Podcast
teachertalkingtime
Teacher Talking Time is a podcast for language teachers who want more: more clarity, more autonomy, and more lasting impact, both inside and outside the classroom.
Hosted by Leo and Andrew of Learn YOUR English, each episode features thoughtful, in-depth conversations with the educators, researchers, and teacherpreneurs shaping the future of language education. Guests have included Scott Thornbury, Bill VanPatten, David Little, Jennifer Jenkins, John Levis, Angelica Galante, Sarah Mercer, Enrica Piccardo, Claudia Fernández, Shawn Loewen, Paul Nation, Sheila Thorn, and many more.
From the latest in second language acquisition research to honest stories of teachers building lives and businesses on their own terms, every conversation invites you to think deeper, teach more intentionally, and take charge of your professional path.
We release two episodes each month - with full video versions on YouTube - to help you reflect, stay inspired, and grow as a teacher and changemaker.
Subscribe, listen, and join a global community of educators leading with intention.
Hosted by Leo and Andrew of Learn YOUR English, each episode features thoughtful, in-depth conversations with the educators, researchers, and teacherpreneurs shaping the future of language education. Guests have included Scott Thornbury, Bill VanPatten, David Little, Jennifer Jenkins, John Levis, Angelica Galante, Sarah Mercer, Enrica Piccardo, Claudia Fernández, Shawn Loewen, Paul Nation, Sheila Thorn, and many more.
From the latest in second language acquisition research to honest stories of teachers building lives and businesses on their own terms, every conversation invites you to think deeper, teach more intentionally, and take charge of your professional path.
We release two episodes each month - with full video versions on YouTube - to help you reflect, stay inspired, and grow as a teacher and changemaker.
Subscribe, listen, and join a global community of educators leading with intention.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 8, 2021 • 36min
Corrective Feedback 1: Exploring the Discourse by Connecting Scholars & Teachers
 We're thrilled to announce our new partnership with Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, to produce an 8-part mini series on the topic of Corrective Feedback. The series explores the area of corrective feedback through interviews with 8 scholars in the field. All interviews are conducted by students in Dr. Eva Kartchava's MA class at Carleton University as a means of assessment to connect researchers to their audience and have her students generate a greater level of understanding and investment in the research from the course. If you are interested in having a similar series produced for your class or institute, you can contact us: info@learnyourenglish.com 
This is the introductory episode to our series on Corrective Feedback. Here, we invite Dr. Eva Kartchava - Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton University, Canada - and Dr. Hossein Nassaji - Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Victoria, Canada - to help kick off the series.
In this episode, Dr. Kartchava and Dr. Nassaji help elucidate many questions the series aims to answer, some of which are:
what is corrective feedback?
how do you give CF?
what is the purpose of CF?
how many different types of CF are there?
when should we provide CF?
Partnership with Carleton University:
Throughout the series, MA students from Dr. Kartchava's class will interview leading experts in the field of corrective feedback. We thank Dr. Kartchava for joining this episode and for spearheading this initiative. 
For more information on this episode, this project, and those involved:
view Carleton and Dr. Kartchava's website on Corrective Feedback
view the LYE blog post on this episode 
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Teacher Development Membership
Join Our Mailing List
Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Feb 27, 2021 • 47min
Cult of Learning 11: What are Habits and The Science Behind Them, Part II
 /CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them. 
Leo and Mike continue our mini series “What are Habits and the Science Behind Them.” In the second installment, they discuss:
how long it takes to adopt a new habit
the story behind that magic number & where it came from
if that number is real or fabricated 
a study dedicated to discovering just how habits are formed
what we can learn from all of this
If you are a learning a language, these episodes are for you!
Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode for more information.
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Our School of Learning for Teachers & Students - only $5/month
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Feb 14, 2021 • 1h 45min
Episode 33: Scott Thornbury
 Scott Thornbury joins Leo, Mike, and Andrew in studio. 
Scott has taught and trained in Egypt, UK, Spain, and in his native New Zealand. Until recently he taught an online MA TESOL program for The New School in New York. His writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology. He is also the series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers, and a trustee of the Hands Up Project, which promotes drama activities in English for children in under-resourced regions of the Arab world. At present, he is working for the Mosaik Foundation, training teachers of refugees in the Middle East in how to integrate communicative activities into their online classes. 
We delve into Scott's career journey, and he discusses:
his career beginnings
his early influences and the "mother goose approach"
a paradigm shift away from drills and accuracy to a fluency-based, communicative approach
views on teacher development
his writing process and how nothing on the page in front of you is alright when there's a lot behind you
Dogme and Leo Van Lier's influence on him
For more on Scott Thornbury:
His website is www.scottthornbury.com
He tweets at @thornburyscott 
His highly acclaimed blog https://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/ 
Mosaik Foundation
Hands Up Project
For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it. 
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Teacher Development Membership
Join Our Mailing List
Our Online Courses for Teachers
Our Sandbox of Lessons and Lesson Ideas
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Jan 31, 2021 • 46min
Cult of Learning 10: What are Habits and The Science Behind Them, Part I
 /CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them. 
In the first COL episode of 2021, Leo and Mike introduce our new mini series on habits called “What are Habits and the Science Behind Them.” In the first episode, they talk about maintaining good habits. Why are they so hard to start and seemingly impossible to keep? Our 3-part series will explore this, how it connects to learning, and much more.
In part one, Mike and Leo tackle:
why most people fail to create good habits
how long it takes to form a new habit
a technique you can use to stick to a good habit and how to track your habits effectively
If you are a learning a language, these episodes are for you!
Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode for more information.
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time
Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:
Start a Podcast with Podbean
Publish an Online Course with Thinkific 

Jan 18, 2021 • 1h 47min
Episode 32: Two Years of Teacher Talking Time
 To kick off 2021, Mike, Leo, and Andrew hold Teacher Talking Time’s first ever live episode to commemorate two years of podcasting with Learn YOUR English. They invite members of the LYE community to share their experiences with podcasts and, specifically, how they use them to develop as educators.
This episode was also broadcast live on the LYE Youtube channel, and in the first episode of 2021, they guys along with their guests discuss:
why and how Teacher Talking Time came to fruition
using podcasting as a tool for CPD
using podcasting as an asset for classroom assessment
Leo’s Master’s dissertation on podcasting in ELT
We also hear from some of our listeners on how they use podcasts for their development.
We also want to give a shoutout to other ELT Podcasts that inspire us. A lot of these influenced us in our careers and in the development of our show. Please check them out:
TEFLology
Tefl Training Institute
TEFL Commute
SLB Coop Podcast
Language Testing Bytes 
For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it. 
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Memberships
Join Our Mailing List
Our Online Courses
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Dec 26, 2020 • 46min
Cult of Learning 9: Our Words of the Year for 2020
 /CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them. 
In the final Cult of Learning episode of 2020, Leo, Mike, and Andrew share their words of the year. From Zoom Fatigue to Cancel Culture to Social Distancing and Quarantine, our vocabularies grew enormously over the past 12 months. 
What words were the most impactful this year? What relevance do they have? How did they come about? 
The guys chat about this, reflect on living through a pandemic, and discuss how this year has taught us all a lot about learning. 
If you are a learning a language, these episodes are for you!
Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode for more information.
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time
Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:
Start a Podcast with Podbean
Publish an Online Course with Thinkific 

Dec 16, 2020 • 1h 38min
Episode 31: 2020 Year in Review
 Mike, Leo, and Andrew sit down and reflect on the year that was in 2020. In a year unlike any other in our lifetime, many things happened. They discuss:
takeaways from the top 5 most listened to Teacher Talking Time episodes of the year
lessons learned in 2020 and reflecting on their 2019 goals
what goal setting for next year looks like staring down a pandemic 
For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it. 
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Memberships
Join Our Mailing List
Our Online Courses
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Nov 15, 2020 • 48min
The Cult of Learning 8: Mastering the Art of Conversation
 /CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them. 
Mike, Leo, and Andrew all cram into the digital studio for the first ever Cult of Learning episode with all three musketeers. The guys talk about conversations, why they can be difficult, reasons for them breaking down, and strategies to use to increase your conversation skills.
They also present a technique they've designed called the "4 A's: Mastering the Art of Conversation." The 4 A's are:
ask
answer
add
ask
If you're looking for tips to improve your English conversation skills, this is the episode for you. Listen to the full episode for examples, analysis, how to use the A's - and a few stories, jokes, and humour along the way. 
If you'd like to take your English conversation skills to the next level, check out our online lesson on just this topic. 
Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode.
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time
Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:
Start a Podcast with Podbean
Publish an Online Course with Thinkific 

Nov 1, 2020 • 1h 34min
Episode 30: Luke Meddings
 Leo invites Luke Meddings into the digital studio. Luke is a teacher, trainer, and author with over 30 years in the ELT industry. In 2009 he co-authored "Teaching Unplugged" with Scott Thornbury, a book that represented a revolution in English Language Instruction. In 2020, Luke founded "The Context," which helps students, teachers, and institutions in the industry. 
Luke reflects on the Dogme movement, why it was viewed as controversial, where it is now, and if he still views it as contentious.  
In much more detail, he tells us:
his teaching beginnings and why it led him to a "teaching unplugged" approach (3:00)
the first school he started - "Explore Your English" - and why it was idealistic (18:00)
the genesis of Dogme and meeting Scott Thornbury (25:00)
why presenting on Dogme at conferences was met with both excitement and contempt (40:00)
the writing of "Teaching Unplugged" and why they didn't use the word "Dogme" (44:00)
the 10 principles of Dogme and why they chose the 3 they did for their movement (55:00)
his thoughts on progressive education and how we still need to do better (1:02:00)
For more on Luke Meddings:
Follow him: @LukeMeddings
Visit his website
Follow The Context on Instagram: @thecontext_edu
Get your copy of Teaching Unplugged
For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it. 
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Memberships
Join Our Mailing List
Our Online Courses
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Oct 18, 2020 • 58min
The Cult of Learning 7: Visualizing Yourself in English
 /CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them. 
Mike and Leo discuss "visualization" and how it can help you become a better language learner. Visualization or "mental imagery" is  is commonly used by many top performers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Phelps, and athletes when preparing themselves for a competition, a race, or a match. 
How does this apply to learning a language? Mike and Leo talk about:
how important the mind is in language performance
famous athletes who use this technique 
how we visualize all the time even if we don't do it on purpose
why it's important to have realistic goals in your language learning
strategies you can use to visualize your "future L2 self"
Check out our website for more information on today's episode. 
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time
Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:
Start a Podcast with Podbean
Publish an Online Course with Thinkific
  


